COMMUNITY ACTION ISLE OF WIGHT - JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Age Friendly Communities Development Support Officer

ReportingTo:Community Action IW Development Officer

Working Hours:21 hours a week– flexible hours required due to number of evening/weekend meetings

JOB SUMMARY:

  • This role will involve being part of a cross organisational team tasked with playing a key role in supporting the delivering of an Age Friendly Island.
  • The project sits at the heart of a broad BIG lottery funded initiative, Fulfilling Lives, Ageing Better, being delivered by a consortium of organisations across the Island.
  • The delivery organisation for the overall project is Age UKIW.
  • Using the World Health Organisation’s ‘Guide to Age Friendly Cities’ as a blueprint this project will work towards the objective of attaining WHO accreditation for the IOW as an ‘Age Friendly Island’.
  • In particular the role will focus upon working with Town and Parish Councils to support them to adopt good practice and help them to build the local plans/knowledge/practical responses to meet the needs of their local older population and meet the challenges of creating an Age Friendly Island.
  • Whether through Parish Plans, Neighbourhood Plans, local resilience planning, the aim is to embed Age Friendly attributes at the parish level.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:Staff and volunteers of Community Action IW and Age UK Isle of Wight,Town and Parish Councils, delivery partners of the Ageing Better Programme and public sector partners.

KEY RESULTS AREAS/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Action / End Result
1. / Project:
-To establish a baseline of the current position of Town and Parish Councils with regard to their current practice compared to Age Friendly ‘best practice’
-To develop and deliver against a work plan.
-To prepare reports as and when required by overall project plan. / The project has clear focus, with relevant stakeholders invested in its success.
Outputs and outcomes are clearly identified and monitored.
The project meets Big Lottery expectations.
2. / Stakeholders:
-To establishing effective systems and a range of methods through which a cross section of local older people, including the more isolated, have the opportunity to highlight their needs and participate in the creation of Age Friendly Communities.
-To develop effective links with Town and Parish Councils, as appropriate, to influence them to support Age Friendly Communities and make relevant and appropriate changes.
-To engage with older peoples as co-creators of the project, using relevant, proven effective, engagement approaches.
-Maintain agreed monitoring and evaluation procedures in order to produce regular reports of activities and outcomes and report back to relevant stakeholders.
-To assist in creating an Audit tool for use in creating Age Friendly Communities.
-To lead, motivate and work with workstream/theme leaders to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the project to achieve service improvement and efficiencies as appropriate within timescales. / Stakeholders and older Island residents feel involved and valued in the creation of Age Friendly
Communities and are able to make effective contributions to the project.
3. / Environment:
-To use the World Health Organisation’s
Guide to Age Friendly Cities as a blueprint to work towards the objective of creating an Age Friendly Community on the Island which will include the following project elements:
•Outdoor spaces and buildings.
•Transportation.
•Housing.
•Social participation.
•Respect and social inclusion.
•Civic participation and …..employment.
•Communication and information.
•Community and health services.
-To apply an asset based and life-course approach to positive ageing within the IOW, drawing on proven techniques to deliver change. / Achieve permanent Age Friendly changes in the local environment.
In doing so establish an environment which offers a way back into a shared life, and make socially isolation a choice rather than a consequence of trigger events and risk factors.
4. / Big Lottery:
-To participate in regional and national activity, e.g. conferences and network events, as required.
-To inform and promote service improvements within the Isle of Wight.
- To undertake other duties which support the delivery of project objectives.
5. / Administration:
-Maintain records and reports to ensure the efficient running of the project.
-Attend meetings and training courses as required.
-Support the preparation of monitoring reports as required.
-Work in accordance with the organization’s policies and procedures.
-Considerable weekend or evening work relating to project activities. / Meet all deadlines and ensure outputs and reports are produced on time to a high quality.

Age Friendly Communities Development Officer - Person Specification

Specification / Essential / Desirable
Experience: / Minimum 2 year’s experience of:
-Working in partnership with a range of organisations, including statutory sector, voluntary sector, schools and community groups, to achieve outcomes.
-Managing and delivering a project including writing of plans, promotion and evaluation/impact models.
-Involvement with groups of volunteers.
-Working within systems and processes to safeguard children, young people and adults.
-Presenting to different groups of people through face to face meetings. / Experience of working with volunteers.
Experience of developing and managing community projects involving a range of different groups of people, including safeguarding.
Experience of developing a project underpinned by sustainability.
Experience of engagement and coproduction.
Knowledge of national and international best practice in relation to positive ageing and innovation.
Skills, Abilities and Knowledge: / -Use a range of IT solutions to manage a project e.g. databases, records and social media.
-To be able to present and produce reports and summarise (verbally and written) in a clear focussed way.
-To be able to motivate and encourage others, in the achievement of specific objectives.
-Ability to manage own time and be able to prioritise
-Be flexible in how and when a project is delivered.
-Ability to work in a team and value a range of contributions when working towards a common goal.
-Knowledge & experience of safeguarding adults and children.
-Knowledge and experience of risk assessments and risk assessed activities.
-Good Team working skills.
-Good presentation skills.
-Excellent self-management skills and the ability to meet deadlines. / Knowledge of completing risk assessments.
Experience in carrying out presentations to community groups.
Specific Aptitudes and Abilities: / -Creativity.
-Solution focussed.
-Excellent communication skills, verbal and written.
-Building and maintaining relationships.
-Working effectively under pressure.
-Ability to make judgements unaided and to work pro-actively.
-Patience.
-Sense of humour.
-Personal resilience.

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